Lubricator pad



Oct. 17, 1967 R. E. MURRAY LUBRICATOR PAD Filed June 1, 1965 YINVENTORBY 7 Wasom, l ww1rm%1mma ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofifice3,347,606 LUBRICATOR PAD Robert E. Murray, 711 Southhampton Ave.,Norfolk, Va. 23510 Filed June 1, 1965, Ser. No. 459,999 2 Claims. (Cl.308-243) This invention relates to lubricating means for the journalboxes of railway cars, and particularly to lubricator pads of thegeneral nature of the one disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,992,051,issued July 11, 1961.

The superiority of lubricator pads over other means for journallubrication is well recognized. They are easier to handle, provide goodlubrication, and do not harm the journal boxes as waste and othermaterials do. There are some excellent lubricator pads on the market,but there are times when problems are still encountered.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improvedlubricator pad which will eliminate many of the remaining problems ofcomplete and trouble-free journal lubrication.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a pad whichwill clear itself quickly of any trash which may get on thejournal-engaging surface of the pad.

Another object is to provide such a lubricator pad which will adaptitself to journal boxes having different depth lubricant sumps.

A further object is to provide a pad which has direct wicking paths fromtop to bottom without interruption by seams, or other obstructions.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken inconjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, thisspecification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lubricator pad embodying theprinciples of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken through a journal box with alubricator pad in place, the pad being broken away to show interiorstructure;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse section through a portion of the journal boxand the lubricator pad, taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and shown onan enlarged scale; and

FIGURE 4 is a partial horizontal section through the end portion of thepad, and is taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 1.

In general, the lubricator pad of the present invention is of the typehaving a core of resilient synthetic rubber or plastic material and anouter case of wicking material.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first to FIG- URE 2, there isshown a conventional journal box 1 of the type used on railway cars. Thebox includes the usual housing 2, having a sump in the bottom forming anoil reservoir 3. There is a dust guard seat 4 and dust guard 5 at theinside, and the journal 6 with its button 7 projects into the box.Bearing '8, held in place by wedge 9, rests upon the journal inconventional manner.

The lubricator pad 10 is adapted to fit within the box, between thebottom of the oil reservoir and the journal. The pad consists of coremembers 11 of molded resilient material such as neoprene orpolyurethane, covered by a casing material 12. The core members aredesigned to fit side by side within the cover, and are contoured toshape the finished pad to the space into which it is to be placed. Thebottoms 13 of the core members are rounded to form a matching curvatureto that of the bottom of the journal box, and the tops 14 are fiat. Theadjacent surfaces 15 of the core members are also flat.

The cover 12 is composed of two core member-encircling strips 16, onearound each core member. The strips are wrapped transversely around thecore members, and the edges of the respective strips are joined inhorizontal seams 17 along the lower inner edges of the core members. Thecasing material projects beyond the ends of the core members and a partof the excess is folded inwardly and stitched to provide end hems 18.

End tapes 19 span each end of each core member and have their edgesstitched to the end hems 18 of the casings. The end tapes do not coverthe entire ends of the core members, but they serve to hold the coresagainst slipping in the casings.

The two covered core members are joined at their ends either bystitching or by stapling. The lines of joinder 20 may extend all of theway along the projecting vertical adjacent edges of the cover as shown,or the connection may be by a simple stitching of the end edges of theadjacent casing walls top and bottom. This manner of joinder provides aunitary pad, but at the same time, leaves the two covered members freefrom attachment to one another throughout the greater parts of theirlengths.

A pull out strap, or handle, 21 projects beyond one end of the pad toprovide means for grasping when the pad is to be withdrawn from ajournal box. The strap has ends 22 which extend the full length of thepad, with one end being stitched to the cover of each core member cover.

The casing material used to cover the core members, and which forms thejournal-contacting part of the pad, is covered with loops 23 of wickingmaterial. These loops actually contact the journal, and, as they arefree to move, they prevent the top surface of the pad from becomingglazed under the constant sliding contact of the journal with the pad.

When the pad of the present invention is inserted into a journal box, itwill rest upon the bottom of the box and be partly immersed in oil. Thecasing, being of very good wicking material, will draw oil to the top ofthe pad very rapidly. The oil will not only move up the outer sides ofthe pad and across the top, but will also flow up the center of the padthrough the inner walls 24 of the core member casings. Thus, oil, too,will spread out across the top of the pad and the entire top surfacewill be saturated very quickly, and resupplied as rapidly as it is usedup.

Due to the separation of the pad into two units between the ends, thereis nothing to impede the free flow of oil along the inner walls 24. Thisconstruction assures substantially the same pressure on the core membersin all installations, as the units may separate if required to adjustthemselves to the journal as needed by the depth from the bottom of thebox to the journal. This depth varies considerably depending uponwhether the box is a new box, or one that is well worn. Mostimportantly, the separation of the units between the ends of the padprovide for the ready removal of trash which may get on the operativesurface of the pad. The pad seats within the box with the units parallelto the journal axis. This places the line of separation directly underthe journal so that any trash which accumulates on the pad can fallfreely between the units to the bottom of the box. This makes the padself cleaning.

The present pad has its bottom contoured to fit the bottom of thejournal box, as did the one disclosed in the above mentioned priorpatent, and, therefore, it has the same advantages of the prior pad plusthe added advantages of unimpeded oil flow, automatic pressureadjustment and self cleaning. Still another advantage of the pad of thepresent invention is the inability of the bottom ends of the centralvertical cover walls 24 shifting to move out of the oil area. These wallends are fixed in the seams at the bottom edges of the core members.

While in the above one practical embodiment of the Patented Oct. 17,1967 inveniton has been disclosed, it will be apparent that the detailsof construction shown and described are merely for purposes ofillustration, and the invention may take other forms within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lubricator pad for use in journal boxes comprising, a pair ofresilient core members arranged side-by-side, a separate sheet oftextile wicking material wrapped and secured around each of the coremembers providing a separate covering for each core member with athickness of wicking material over the tops, sides and bottoms of thecore members, the sides of the coverings between the side-by-side coremembers each being a vertical side having top, bottom,front and rearends, and means connecting the vertical sides of the adjacentcoveringsbetween the core members from the bottom to the top of thelubricator padat the front end and rear end only, whereby when the padis inserted into a journal box there is nothing to impede the free flowof oil between the adjacent coverings.

2. A lubricator pad for use in journal boxes as claimed bottom and aflat top.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,975,009 3/ 1961 Bair 308-2432,992,051 7/1961 Murray 308-243 3,008,775 11/1961 Housman 308-243 X3,080,200 3/ 1963 Bair et al. 308-243 3,090,660 5/1963 Hoyer et a1308-243 3,164,424 1/ 1965 Hennessy 308-243 3,239,293 3/1966 Newman308-243 EDGAR W. GEOHEGAN, Primary Examiner.

MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Examiner.

R. F. HESS, F. SUSKO, Assistant Examiner.

1. A LUBRICATOR PAD FOR USE IN JOURNAL BOXES COMPRISING, A PAIR OFRESILIENT CORE MEMBERS ARRANGED SIDE-BY-SIDE, A SEPARATE SHEET OFTEXTILE WICKING MATERIAL WRAPPED AND SECURED AROUNE EACH OF THE COREMEMBERS PROVIDING A SEPARATE COVERING FOR EACH CORE MEMBER WITH ATHICKNESS OF WICKING MATERIAL OVER THE TOPS, SIDES AND BOTTOMS OF THECORE MEMBERS, THE SIDE OF THE COVERINGS BETWEEN THE SIDE-BY-SIDE COREMEMBERS EACH BEING A VERTICAL SIDE HAVING TOP, BOTTOM FRONT AND REARENDS, AND MEANS CONNECTING THE VERTICAL SIDES OF THE ADJACENT COVERINGSBETWEEN THE CORE MEMBERS FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP OF THE LUBRICATORPAD AT THE FRONT END AND REAR END ONLY, WHEREBY THE WHEN THE PAD ISINSERTED INTO A JOURNAL BOX THERE IS NOTHING TO IMPEDE THE FREE FLOW OFOIL BETWEEN THE ADJACENT COVERINGS.